Partners In Crime Black and White
by Splash of Blue
Summary: It’s the crime that shook an old pureblood family to pieces. Now it’s back, with a vengeance- just as they were beginning to forget. It seems Rovaticus Brocklehurst didn’t kill his mother- but if he didn’t do it, who did? R and R please!


A/N: This is going to be my first Harry Potter crime series, so I hope you like it. Anyway, please review, and if you like this I'd be grateful if you'd R and R my other latest work, Said and Done, since I've not had any reviews for it. Love, Peace and Marauders fics forever! Rubii Firestorm.  
  
Partners in Crime: The Hogwarts Years by Rubii Firestorm  
Case 1: Black and White  
  
Artemis and Apollo Westhaven are the most un-identical twins you could ever imagine- they're almost  
permanently at war with each other! But with their street smarts and good Ministry connections, they'll take on anything that their penchant for trouble- the only thing they have in common- throws at them!  
  
Part 1: Double Trouble  
Artemis Westhaven lounged against the tapestry concealing the door to the Ravenclaw Common Room, letting her long, poker-straight black hair (that she was always trying to get to do something more interesting) hang loose to her waist, pretending coolness, but in reality she was completely on edge, a fact the one bitten fingernail betrayed. She had been trying for years to stop biting her nails, and now all were perfectly formed except for right little finger. It was a Saturday, and the sixth year was listening- listening intently…  
An almighty BANG! came from the corridor outside, then a girl's scream and the sound of running footsteps- the signal Artemis had been waiting for.  
"Come on," she muttered to the Eagle on the tapestry entrance to Ravenclaw Tower. "Come _on_, Mistopheles, you know who it is! Open up!"  
"All right," the ancient eagle creaked, sliding the tapestry- a massive blue concoction of immense size- to the side. A long leg appeared, then a panting sixteen- year- old boy's head and shoulders was thrust through the gap. At once Artemis heaved him through with such force that he was flung into the room. Artemis yanked the curtain back, murmuring the password ("Aurora Borealis!") to close it firmly. The boy sat up, pushing his straight, white blonde-hair with its odd golden streaks out of his greenish-grey eyes, as fists bashed on the wall that hid the outside of the entrance to Ravenclaw Common Room.  
"Apollo Westhaven, I know you're in there!" an irate female voice- a voice quite unlike Professor Sybil Trelawney's usual misty treble- yelled. "What did you want to put the PinkSun Potion in my shampoo for? I shall spend a fortnight with shining pink hair now!" At last the banging stopped and the sound of retreating angry footsteps was heard.  
"Thanks, Mistopheles," said Artemis gratefully. "You were brilliant."  
The bad tempered, cantankerous old eagle who guarded the entrance to Ravenclaw Tower, merely shrugged, but Artemis guessed he was secretly pleased. The twins were amongst the few that the grumpy, ancient old eagle tolerated, though nobody was quite sure why: Artemis was quick, impatient and hot tempered, while Apollo was quiet, reserved and always calm in any circumstances. Both were pureblood and, despite their membership of Ravenclaw, the House of scholars, and better-than-average brains, the two were incurably lazy when the work wasn't for their own ends, such as a prank, or practise for their house Quidditch team, where they played as Beaters. Their parents were always said to be high up in the Ministry of Magic, though not even their children knew exactly what they did. The twins, by virtue of their infrequent but potent escapades, had become known to Hogwarts teaching staff as 'Those Westhaven twins," or, in a word, trouble. This was probably the reason that they had not been asked to become Prefects, a mercy for which Apollo and Artemis were very thankful.  
At last Apollo closed one eye in a slow wink, then high-fived his twin from where he sat on the floor. Artemis burst into helpless laughter.  
"What- did- you- want to get Trelawney for?" she burst out, in her slight, musical Welsh accent, when she could speak again. "It was Snape, we agreed. And why the hell did you take so long?"  
"But I did get Snape," explained Apollo in his equally unmistakable Welsh accent, blinking at the unaccustomed blueness of the Common Room, and indeed, everything- from the plush seats at the study tables, to the carpet, even the ceiling- was coloured in various shades and tones of blue. "But Trelawney surprised me on the way back up here, did her usual 'I see death' thing, then mentioned that she was off to wash her hair. It was too good an opportunity to miss. I had about half the potion left- Snape's shampoo bottle is amazing small for someone who has such great need of the stuff- so I saw my chance and slipped the rest into Trelawney's shampoo while she was busy terrifying some poor first years. Unfortunately, I was about to leave when Trelawney came in for her shower. Luckily I still had Cho Chang's Invisibility Cloak on me (she lent it to me on the understanding that our next move should be to 'get' Blaise Zabini, who I understand has been extraordinarily bitchy recently), so I slipped it on, covered my eyes and waited for our illustrious Divination professor to finish her daily ablutions. I couldn't see her, but oh! The singing! The singing! It was too terrible for you to imagine!"  
Here Apollo covered his eyes in mock horror, and Artemis giggled.  
"Anyway," her twin continued, "She noticed her hair and screamed- like a stuck pig, mark you, and quite deafening, from where yours truly was standing at least. At this point, I was just getting out of her Tower when the Cloak slipped on that horrible rope ladder. She saw me, yelled again and I was left with no option but to run for it, the results of which, you heard. By the way, the bang was Trelawney falling down the step ladder."  
Artemis shook her head. "Only you, oh brother-of-my-heart, could manage to be so smart and so dumb at the same time," she said pityingly. "I mean, why the heck did you let her see you? Pranking Snape is one thing- he _is_ a criminal nuisance, after all, and we have the support of the whole school in giving him a little, ahem, trouble- but Trelawney's got her supporters, you know. Still, it was funny- and at least we know that my potion worked. D'you suppose we'll see the effects on Snape somewhere about Christmas? Oh heck, but I bet he'll tip his shampoo out now, you plonker. I'll have to make another batch, thanks to you."  
Apollo was about to reply when Cho Chang came in, forestalling an argument.  
"Hi Artemis, Apollo," she said, nodding to them. "I saw Trelawney just now, ranting about her hair. A really remarkable job somebody's made of it, too. I assume it was you two?"  
The twins nodded, but Artemis scowled at her brother. "I spent months on that potion, and now Apollo's given the game away by pranking Trelawney as well as Snape," she complained. "I mean, granted it was funny and all that, but we were supposed to be getting Snape, and I bet he'll tip out, or at least investigate, the contents of his shampoo now. It's just as well you let my ignoramus of a brother borrow your Invisibility Cloak, though, or we'd be in an even worse mess than we are already."  
Apollo rolled his eyes.  
"Oh yes, and speaking of which," put in Cho, frowning at Artemis in a (probably vain) attempt to prevent one of the twins' usual arguments, "Flitwick's on his way- Trelawney met him on the stairs. You two'd better make yourselves scarce. He didn't sound that happy."  
"Thanks Cho," said Apollo. "We'll go. You're good at excuses- just warn us about whatever you've said before we meet Flitwick, OK?"  
Cho nodded. "I'll send Cleo if I have to," she said, referring to her younger sister, who was also in Ravenclaw. "Good luck!"  
With which the twins turned and headed as one out of the room. As she did so, Artemis stumbled over Mandy Brocklehurst, a fifth year, who was sitting on the floor, reading as usual, her outsize glasses almost falling off the end of her nose.  
"Well, THAT was a stupid place to read, wasn't it?" Artemis shrugged in her usual carelessness. Then she disappeared through the tapestry, hot on the heels of her brother.


End file.
